A startup backed by Google, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Paul Allen’s investment firm, called AltaRock Energy has delivered an important breakthrough for the next-generation of geothermal technology at a site in Bend, Oregon.

Nevada will be home to the “world’s first” hybrid solar, geothermal plant. The new combined 24 MW project was announced during a press conference by Senator Harry Reid and Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu at an energy summit on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

The U.S. government is throwing its weight behind geothermal power this week, announcing a $350 million loan guarantee to fund a geothermal power project in Nevada, and $70 million in support for technologies that speed up geothermal energy generation across the country.

Remember AltaRock Energy? The geothermal startup, which suffered a setback last year when it canceled a demonstration project in California, is back with a project in Oregon that will be crucial for showing that its novel approach to engineering a geothermal field can work.

Has Google struck geothermal gold in West Virginia? A Google-funded report shows the state’s underground heat could provide 18,890 megawatts of power, more than its current coal-fired generation capacity.